Hello, and welcome (back?) to This Week at Mercatus.
This email newsletter has long been a staple of how we communicate with those who follow our work. We’ve used it as tool to highlight research of consequence at the highest levels of economic scholarship. However, we realized this newsletter could be doing more to share our excitement about our work and its impact. So after a brief hiatus, we’re back, with the goal of doing just that. This will happen in a variety of ways, from interviews with scholars to write-ups of research and deep dives into our latest programming. Mercatus still prides itself on its excellent scholarship, but we’re just as deeply committed to discovering talent and fostering pluralism.
Our goal is to get you as excited about what’s happening at Mercatus as we are. We welcome any thoughts and suggestions you’d like to give, so please share your feedback.
So, without any further ado, here is the work we're highlighting this week: Housing.
What if I told you that there is a left/right coalition working together on an incredibly important policy issue? This is the story of the YIMBY housing movement working its way across several states across the country. Mercatus has been part of this coalition from the beginning and has worked with a broad range of people across the country. Our scholars have testified before state legislatures, worked with policymakers, and even been a part of task forces aimed at improving housing.
Advocates fiercely argue for the removal of zoning barriers, increased options for accessory dwelling units (think in-law suites), and allow more divisions within properties. It turns out that more affordable housing is something most folks can get behind.
“When parking mandates require developers to dedicate more real estate to parking than they otherwise would, housing costs go up and our cities become increasingly spread out. These parking rules also impede transportation, making it more difficult for people to get around on foot, bicycle, or public transit. Allowing developers to decide how much parking to build based on market demand would encourage more types of new construction, including both more housing in existing walkable neighborhoods and more walkable greenfield development.”
Letting the market decide how much parking is necessary in a given location has a myriad of benefits. In places where parking mandates exist, housing prices go up, which is both regressive and anti-free market.
Macro Musebot: Have you ever wanted to ask the entire corpus of Macro Musings a question about monetary policy? I know I have.
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